On Sunday, Lady Gaga became the first woman in history to win a BAFTA, an Oscar, a Golden Globe, and a Grammy in the same year.
But things weren't always like this. In fact, it has been alleged that in university, the singer's haters set up a Facebook group based around the idea that she'd "never be famous".
The social media page, named 'Stefani Germanotta, you’ll never be famous', was brought to public attention in 2016 after one of her former classmates admitted she had stumbled upon the group while in college, saying it "broke her heart".
In an essay posted on Facebook, journalist Lauren Bohn, who reportedly attended NYU at the same time as Gaga, recounted that the "page housed pictures of a pretty Norah Jones-esque young 18-year-old NYU student who sang and played piano at local bars" and was "peppered with comments, sharp as porcupine needles, vilifying the aspiring musician for being an 'attention-whore'."
One man in the group allegedly posted a flyer for Gaga's upcoming gigs at a local village bar and "had clearly stomped on the flyer, an outline of his muddy sole [soul] struggling to eclipse her name," while someone else in the group asked: "Who does she think she is?"
Forgetting about the group and the "raw feeling of filth" she had felt while looking at it, Bohn moved on with her life and didn't think of it again until five years later.
She was on a train reading a Vanessa Grigoriadis New York Magazine profile on Lady Gaga when she read the musician's real name: Stefani Joanne Germanotta.
Realising the phenomenally successful Gaga was her cyberbullied college peer, the journalist was elated, describing herself as "overcome with a dizzying emotional cocktail of stage-mom-at-a-beauty-pageant and nerd-revenge triumph".
Despite her excitement though, Bohn confessed that, although she never partook in the hateful group, she wished she had "defended the girl with the intense raven eyes — the girl whose brave flyers were stomped on, probably somewhere near my dorm."
"Stefani, thank you. Thank you for always thinking you're a superstar, for using your cracks to let the light come out more brightly. Humans, let's follow suit," she concluded.
"In Gaga’s case, and in life, I wanted to try to convey what might be possible if we just keep going," Bohn added later in an interview. "If we keep walking toward that literal or metaphorical stage unapologetically and proudly, no matter who’s laughing at us/getting in our ways as we walk by."
In the wake of Gaga's extraordinary awards season run, the 'Stefani Germanotta, you’ll never be famous' group has gone viral once again, and stands as a reminder for everyone to be a little kinder to the people around them.
You never know, they could end up being Lady Gaga.
